I sat awkwardly with the cat dressed in red, who I learned was named Mandalay, and fidgeted.

"Why aren't you in the hot springs, (L/N)? It's quite nice and refreshing, to say the least." I laughed, playing with the ends of my shirt. I'd been trying to avoid that question for a very long time.

"I just... feel awkward in there. It's not every day you see your classmates naked..." I sucked on my teeth, hoping that she'd just drop the topic. My cheeks were burning a bright pink, and to my relief, she just shrugged and we continued to sit in silence. Once my train of thought had returned, I cleared my throat and asked her a question that had been on my mind.

"Mandalay?" 

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking..." I took a deep breath in and made eye contact with her. "Is there a reason why Kota seems to disapprove of heroes despite being so young? Surely there must be a reason, right? I've just never seen someone who plainly just doesn't like them, being in a world full of them, at least." 

Mandalay looked at the ground, wringing her hands together. The silence in the room became imminent again. The blue pussycat walked into the room, holding a few cups of tea on a tray.

"You see, Kota didn't always dislike heroes. He treasured them. His parents were even heroes, and that's why it was even more important to him. But a few years ago, they died in their line of duty." She paused, voice shaky.

"Take your time." 

"Thanks." Mandalay took over and told me the rest.

"Kota, he doesn't like heroes now because he believes that his parents, heroes, they just... left him. Of course, a child so young wouldn't have been able to comprehend what was going on around him. And society... people kept complimenting their deaths, saying that it was a good thing. He thinks that they wouldn't have died so early on if they weren't heroes."

"He doesn't like us very much either, since we're heroes as well," the blue pussycat chimed in, rubbing a white paw on her arm. I looked at the folded hands in my lap, thinking. I didn't realize he had this... trauma about him.

Of course, if I had went through the same thing, I don't think I'd even want to be around heroes anymore. I didn't like his attitude, but at the same time I felt sorry for him, for what he'd been through and the experiences that had caused this hard shell to form. 

Kota wasn't very mature, even now. It's irresponsible to say things that make it someone else's problem. But in the end, everyone has their own opinions, and are entitled to their own. After I listened to everybody's, I found the words gone, stripped from my mouth. I didn't have much to say after that.

__

The next morning we began quirk training, the sole purpose of this camp. The full group of the Wild, Wild Pussycats introduced themselves and we began. Midoriya and I were both working on strength-type training, him and his Detroit Smash and me and my staff. It was handy, the thing, and acted like a make-shift quirk. Tiger, the only male in the rescue group, was leading the boot camp. 

I grunted, thrusting my staff in his direction, but he swiftly evaded it, jabbing it back at me, hitting me straight in the stomach. Groaning, I laid on the ground, body aching. Midoriya was soon laying next to me, not even seconds later.

"You're still pretty lively! That means your muscle fibers haven't been ripped apart yet!" I gave him a weak thumbs-up and muttered a "yessir" along with Izuku as we both got up, shaking. 

"It's Plus Ultra right? Then show me! Give me Ultra!" 

"Yessir!"

He's scary, but I felt riled up, now that he was taunting us. I shouted my response after Midoriya and for the rest of the afternoon we sparred until we dropped. I laid breathless on the grass as the sun set on the horizon, coloring the skies with warm hues, a moment of hope until the dark night fell, engulfing the sky with purple and blue. 

I saw a figure stand above me and offer me their hand, to which I happily accepted. Deku pulled me up and pointed towards the wooden tables where the Pussycats were serving curry.

"Let's head to dinner." I smiled at him and walked alongside him, slightly limping because of my sore muscles. 

"That training was hard, I think I actually pulled a muscle," I commented, rolling my shoulder around, massaging it. "I really don't want this joint to be bad, I already screwed it up a lot of times." Izuku chuckled, holding out his right arm.

"Same here." We shared a laugh in the midst of all the pain we endured. I spotted a certain red cap through the crowd of students. Stopping, I bit my bottom lip and just stared, eyes drooping. Midoriya also stopped along with me.

"(L/N)-san, what's wrong?" I hesitated to answer, knowing that the story wasn't the best thing to tell him right now. But I went against my instinct, knowing that Izuku had previous encounters with him, and I felt as if he had to know the truth.

"Midoriya-kun, there's something I have to tell you about Kota."

__

During dinner, I'd noticed both of the boys I'd talk about and talked to were gone. It figures. I knew Deku was the type to care about people. After the hot meal, he returned and both Class 1A and Class 1B were put in a series of trials. 

The Wild, Wild Pussycats explained everything, and we drew lots. I got paired up with the green haired boy, much to my relief. Since five of our classmates were out, it left us with an even number. We talked for a bit and had banter about our favorite pro heroes when suddenly, my nose started to itch.

"(L/N)-san, something wrong?" he asked, inspecting my face. I blinked a couple times and smelled the air. My eyes eventually caught onto black smoke emitting from the forest. My eyes widened and my throat started to close up when I realized what the situation was.

"There's a fire, and I don't think any of us started it." Izuku thought for a second before he caught on too. He gasped and looked at me.

"No, they couldn't-"

"Yes they can. They found us."